'ADDA AT RANAN' - Creating Dance: Content, Context, Confluence

As part of INTERFACE 2010 - the biennial performance festival presented by Sapphire Creations Dance Workshop - Ranan hosted an adda with performance scholars, critics and participating artists - - Sadanand Menon (performance scholar) - Sunil Kothari (dance critic) - Jacek Luminski (dancer/choreographer from Poland) The varied adda audience and participants comprised dancers, critics, students, musicians and others. Click the image for photographs.

Sadanand Menon's opening comments:


This is a very, very comfortable size of a group for us to have a conversation. The idea itself is fantastic – to have these meetings and informal gatherings. It’s as important as working with the body – working with the mind, sharing ideas. And obviously even more important than just writing. I’ve been peripherally part of the dance world for some years, and the general experience is that there is a lot of conversation behind people’s backs – but nothing in front. And that is very, very important for anything positive to develop. Unfortunately the media scene in India at the moment does not encourage too much reflection around arts practice, whether fine art, literary art or performing art. So we’re left to ourselves to discuss our own work. It’s not in the newspapers, and publications are few and far between. We don’t really have a sufficient bank of Indian scholars who are reflecting on Indian dance. Much writing on Indian dance in the last five years has been happening abroad. We are in that kind of a context. So in this context, the theme that has been proposed of looking at the creating of dance, trying to understand the beginning point is very important. 

'Adda at Ranan': The Lost Art of Dastangoi - photographs and comments

Photographs by Indudipa Sinha

Mahmood Farooqui, Anusha Rizvi and Danish Hussain visited Calcutta for the first time with their acclaimed rendition of Dastangoi on Sunday, 12 September 2010. Their presentation formed the concluding evening of The New Festival at The Park Hotel. 


The following afternoon, Ranan hosted the trio in an informal adda on their discoveries and experiences with Dastangoi. They talked about the history of the form and its present day situation, and answered several questions which their performance of the night before had thrown up. 


COMMENTS

Loved the Dastangoi session. The informality of the space and the event will draw me back to the Ranan space in future too.

Kathakali Jana

It was really nice and interesting. Informative as well. I have got some very interesting insights into this ancient Islamic art of storytelling.

Sonu

Work and play at Brindar's 'Tridhara' rehearsals

Click here to see the complete album of photographs of Brindar's rehearsals for 'Tridhara' - hard work, mad play, and downright fun!

 Photographs by Indudipa Sinha

Tridhara and Ankur 2010

From a novice to a performer: a dancer's journey

Brindar - Ranan's Kathak training wing - presents its students in their annual programme on 9 September 2010 at Gyan Manch, Calcutta. The following day we present ‘Ankur’, Ranan’s 6-year old national platform for emerging talent in classical dance. In effect, the two days exemplify a journey: learning the craft of dance to young dancers who stand on the threshold of their careers.

Thursday, 9 September 2010:

Tridhara
 
Conceived, choreographed and conducted by Debahree Bhattacharya. Performed by Brindar students

Friday, 10 September 2010:

Ankur 2010

1. Short Kathak solo by a Debosmita Roychoudhury, senior Brindar student
2. Kathak by Somdatta Banerjee, Kolkata - disciple of Smt. Rani Karnaa
3. Kuchipudi by Prateeksha Kashi, Bangalore - disciple of Smt. Vyjaiyanthi Kashi

The two day event will also showcase an exhibition pertaining to the performance created by Brindar students.

All are welcome to both these events
Contacts: 9830673030 / 9831256730 / rananindia@gmail.com

This two-day programme is supported by
* Sangeet Natak Akademi, Delhi
* Open Doors Event Management, Calcutta
* Uma Baleshwar Charitable Trust, Patna

RANAN'S 'EQUUS' AT THE ABHINAYA THEATRE FESTIVAL, HYDERABAD

 Ranan's dance and theatre staging of Peter Shaffer's Equus will be staged as part of the Abhinaya Theatre Festival in Hyderabad. The festival is organised by the Abhinaya monthly theatre journal, and the image on the right shows a photograph of Ranan's Equus carried on the cover of their June issue.
The details of our performance are given below:

Date: Tuesday, 17 August, 2010
Time: 7pm

Venue: Rabindra Bharathi Auditorium, Hyderabad

The festival is open to all. For further details please contact:
abhinayamonthly@gmail.com / 9391111622

Poets in Conversation: Sampurna Chattarji and Anjum Katyal at Ranan

Photographs of this event at Ranan on 13 June 2010.

COMMENTS FROM THE POETS

It’s a beautiful evening of new experience of learning

Joy Goswami

Thank you, good people at Ranan, for opening up this beautiful space. Reading from and talking about my first novel here has been an experience I shall cherish!

Love and hugs

Sampurna Chattarji

May this be the start of many intimate interactive sessions.

Anjum Katyal

Sampurna Chattarji reads from 'Rupture'

Ranan is delighted to present the first public programme at our own space.

Poet Sampurna Chattarji will read passages from her first novel, Rupture, followed by a conversation with fellow poet and arts writer, Anjum Katyal.

On : Sunday, 13 June 2010, 6pm
At : Ranan, 8 Sultan Alam Road, Kolkata -33

All are welcome to this event, but since Ranan has limited seating space please call or email us to reserve a place:
9831256730 or 9432202045
rananindia@gmail.com

Click here for directions to Ranan